Irving Berlin's White Christmas

Well, at least the music is good. Too bad the rest of the production doesn’t live up to it. Tony Award-winner Walter Bobbie directs this lackluster new musical based on the classic 1954 film. With a cute, if corny, story and some of the best songs ever written, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas should be great entertainment, but it plays more like an amateur work than a Broadway show.

Like the movie “White Christmas,” the musical, with a book by David Ives and Paul Blake, tells the story of two showbiz buddies and World War II veterans (Stephen Bogardus and Jeffrey Denman) who put on a show in a picturesque Vermont inn owned by their former General (Charles Dean) to help save his financially struggling establishment. That concept transfers all right to stage, but the romances of the two men and the singers (Kerry O’Malley and Meredith Patterson) they are fated to court have no sparkle or life. Despite lots of singing and dancing together, they never seem more than passing acquaintances.

Another big sinker is Randy Skinner’s unimaginative choreography, which is crippled by a few dancers who appear to need more rehearsal time -- lots more.

The third major problem for me is the hammy dialogue, typical of old-time movies, and the reason I never cared much for them. When Betty (O’Malley) tries to brush off Bob (Bogardus), she says, “Sometimes the twain don’t meet,” and he replies, “And sometimes the train doesn’t get out of the station.” That kind of talk gets tiresome real fast.

O’Malley is at her best when she is man-less. She’s dynamite making her solo nightclub debut at the Regency Room and belting out “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me.” Anna Louizos’ set is dazzling, with its cocktail tables, grand piano and spectacular backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. All of her sets are good, but city-slicker that I am, this one is my favorite.

Unfortunately in the same scene Bogardus misses all the soulfulness of one of my favorite songs of that era, “How Deep is the Ocean?” Sitting alone at a table longing for Betty, he sounds like someone who has taken a sleeping pill and then is asked to go on and sing. No passion.

A few of the supporting roles are engaging. Dean as the General is good, as is Susan Mansur as Martha Watson, his longtime, wisecracking assistant, and 10-year-old Melody Hollis in her Broadway debut as the scene-stealing, precocious Susan Waverly, the General’s granddaughter.

Carrie Robbins’ costumes are also nice, and you will definitely know what season it is in the final scene with the women’s RED gowns.

But, as I said, it’s the songs that save this show. Besides “How Deep is the Ocean?” and the Oscar-winning title song that is the best-selling single in history, selections include “Happy Holidays,” “Let Yourself Go,” “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” “Blue Skies” and “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.”

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas continues at the Marquis Theatre, Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets, through Jan. 4. Tickets are available by visiting WhiteChristmasBroadway.com or through Ticketmaster.com.
 

Stage Door Canteen: Broadway Responds to WWII

I wasn’t familiar with a lot of the songs in 92Y’s Lyrics & Lyricists “Stage Door Canteen: Broadway Responds to WWII” concert Monday afternoon. While it’s nice to hear new things, I would have liked more of the standards because the music from that era is the most beautiful and romantic music ever written.

Performances in the first act were uneven and the much better second act was a bit heavy on Army songs, but generally it was a satisfying afternoon of entertainment. Theatre historian Ted Chapin’s narration was a big factor, lending insight into the times, the songwriters and that magical real-life theatre district spot called the Stage Door Canteen, where A-list stars like Bette Davis, Ethel Merman and Ingrid Bergman entertained servicemen during the 1940s. (Interesting tidbit: no alcohol was served, but in a typical day 3,000 cigarettes were smoked and 25 pounds of candy eaten.)

Music director Andy Einhorn allowed for some unusual interpretations. One that didn’t work for me at all was Betsy Wolfe’s “The Last Time I Saw Paris,” especially given Chapin’s introduction. He said when Oscar Hammerstein heard in 1940 that Hitler had invaded Paris he did what poets do, he sat down and wrote a song. I whispered to my friend Trixy, “Oh, I love this song,” because I knew what was coming. It’s a song about someone who cherishes memories of a city whose “heart was warm and gay.” It’s sung with longing mingled with sadness that such a place could be occupied by such ugliness, but Wolfe (right in photo) sang it with a big smile and sounded like someone recounting a great vacation, missing the point entirely. Earlier she had sung a glorious “All the Things You Are.”

A far better experience of reinterpretation of a classic was Brandon Victor Dixon’s “God Bless America.” Usually sung in the Kate Smith boisterous style, Dixon offered a gentle, prayerful rendition that was so moving. Absolutely beautiful. I also liked his “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Jeffrey Denman’s “White Christmas” and Anderson Davis’ “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” Each was presented first as a solo and then together as a harmonious medley. Charming.

Other highlights: Debra Monk’s “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” Denman’s dancing (anyone who was fortunate enough to see him in Yank! knows how he can dance) and an audience sing-along to “Mairzy Doats.” (Monk is at left in photo, Denman center). I also liked the black and white photos that showed America at that momentous time in our history, pictures of Times Square, Broadway theatres, workers and soldiers.

The Stage Door Canteen, run by the American Theatre Wing, was a theater district club for servicemen with dancing, entertainment, food and a chance to hobnob with celebrities. Although it is long gone, a memorial plaque dedicated to its efforts can be seen on West 44th Street near Sardi’s. Chapin’s grandmother began volunteering at the Stage Door Canteen on its very first day.

“On the one hand, before Pearl Harbor Broadway provided escapist entertainment in which, for example, Winsocki was urged to ‘buckle down,’ and Cole Porter listed what celebrities might do when they go ‘Farming’”, Chapin said in press notes. “Then Broadway began to respond to the war with shows like Irving Berlin’s extraordinary This Is the Army. In the middle of the war, Oklahoma! opened and really captured the spirit of the country we were fighting for. Lyrics & Lyricists gives me a chance to explore the American Songbook of this era and to see the lasting effect WWII had on Broadway.”


Coming up in the Lyrics & Lyricists series:

April 30, May 1, 2
THE CROWD’S AT EL MOROCCO: THE HEYDAY OF THE NEW YORK NIGHTCLUBS
DEBORAH GRACE WINER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & HOST
JOHN ODDO, MUSIC DIRECTOR & PIANO
MARK WALDROP, STAGE DIRECTOR

Debby Boone, Vocals
La Tanya Hall, Vocals
James Naughton, Vocals
Billy Stritch, Vocals
Karen Ziemba, Vocals

May 21, 22, 23
CARRIED AWAY: BEING COMDEN AND GREEN
PHYLLIS NEWMAN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & HOST
LARRY YURMAN, MUSIC DIRECTOR
CARL ANDRESS, STAGE DIRECTOR

Mary Testa, Vocals
Max von Essen, Vocals
Zakiya Young, Vocals

Special Guest: Leslie Uggams

Additional artists to be announced

For more information, visit www.92Y.org/Lyrics.

I Love a Piano

This was charming, a lovely way to spend Sunday afternoon, watching six talented performers sing and dance their way through this revue of more than 60 Irving Berlin songs. The staging at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts was simple, but the result was shimmering. It was like being transported back to another, more glamorous time, back before love songs had lyrics like “let’s get it on.” The romantic in me couldn’t help but love a show like this.

“I Love a Piano” follows the life of a 1910 upright piano with one broken key as it is bought and sold, abandoned and found again.  Starting in a music store, the piano moves through different settings and decades as a way of showcasing the songs. Using Berlin’s popular favorites as well as humorous lesser known compositions like “Pack Up Your Sins and Go to the Devil,” this show, which had never been seen in New York City, captures the spirit of a half-century of American history, from the ragtime rhythms of the early 20th century through the Depression and World War II, up to the innocent optimism of the 1950s.  With timeless classics such as “White Christmas,” “God Bless America,” “Puttin’ On the Ritz,” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “I Love a Piano” does more than define the music of a generation – it defines the music of our country. And in this time of anti-immigrant fervor, let’s not forget that Berlin was an immigrant. What a blessing to our country -- and the performing arts. As Jerome Kern said: “Irving Berlin has no place in American music. He is American Music!”.
 
This clever show was conceived by Ray Roderick and Michael Berkeley and directed and choreographed by Roderick.  It features musical arrangements by Berkeley and a cast including Mark Baratelli, Darcie Bender, Summer Broyhill, Johnnie Moore, Sean Schwebke, and Karla Shook.  Alex LeFevre directs the nine-piece band.

For me, the afternoon was a homecoming. The Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts is at Brooklyn College, where I taught for six years; for two of which I also was working on my MFA in playwriting. Brooklyn College is part of my soul and it was good to be back. I look forward to returning for other scheduled shows -- “The Nutcracker” in December, a concert by Mandy Patinkin in March and “Evita” in April. And trust me, it’s not hard to get there -- you just take the 2 train to the end of the line, Flatbush Avenue/Brooklyn College and you’re there. My friend Mary Sheeran, who met me there, remarked a couple of times about what a breeze it was -- no wandering around a strange borough looking for a place you’ve never been. Just come up from out of the subway and you’ll see the beautiful tower of BC’s library. Check out the future offerings and maybe I’ll see you there -- www.BrooklynCenterOnline.org.